Expansion on Lawrence Campus

“This is big news,” said NECC President Lane Glenn, referring to the upcoming expansion of the Lawrence campus. “We expect to be welcoming two new college partners.”

Having these new partners will enable students to get a bachelor’s degree in several majors right on the Lawrence campus.

Regis College, a private college in Massachusetts, will offer students a BA in nursing, public health, and health science. Lyndon State College will offer a BA in Information Technology, a BFA in Graphic Design, and a BA in Visual Communication and Music Business. This is the first time bachelor’s degrees in these majors will be available in Lawrence.
The college is also hoping to open a Regional Public Safety Center in the next few years, and are currently looking for funding for the building. According to Glenn, the facility will be a “new police center for the city of Lawrence as well as a training center for college students.”

The opening of this center would make Lawrence the “premier location for police training in the Northeast,” he said.

The Lawrence campus will be offering “more tutoring services and more developmental coursework, replicating what’s happening on the Haverhill campus,” said NECC Dean Chuck Phair. NECC hopes to create more opportunities for students at Lawrence High School to become involved with dual enrollment.

Glenn also expressed interest in rehabilitating some of the facilities themselves. “We’re hoping to renovate the Dimitry building and the library on the Lawrence campus,” he said.
The college has been working with the city of Lawrence to improve the Buckley parking garage. As part of this, increased lighting in the garage will help students walking to and from their cars feel more safe and secure.

Veterans at NECC

There are over 100 veterans and current or former military members attending classes at NECC, but many may not know that they are even around.

Veterans often carry themselves differently than the typical student by showing leadership, promoting teamwork and displaying self-discipline. However, according to a study by the U.S. Army Medical Department, student veterans and servicemembers frequently face three main challenges: having meaningful social interactions with other non-military students, adjusting to the cultural differences between military and student/civilian life and adjusting to one’s role outside of the military.

Many former military members use their professional background to the advantage of themselves and others.

“I bring life experience to the table, and (students) see that,” said Eddie Hoar, former U.S. Army service member and journalism/communication major at NECC. He followed up by saying that he had to “ease back into college life,” as the combination of his military experience and other life challenges made the transition difficult.

Hoar is also a member of NECC’s club for veterans: the Veterans and Servicepersons Organization, or VSO for short. The VSO’s mission is to provide social and cultural support to student veterans by helping to bridge the gaps related to the common struggles experienced by service members after their military service.

However, some veterans may find it difficult to adjust to student life if they don’t feel comfortable with identifying themselves as such.

“Veterans are unknown on campus,” said Cory Chambers, an Iraq war veteran, engineering science major and the vice president of the VSO. “Why is that?” he asked.

Self-identification is a key struggle across many educational institutions in regards to trying to promote a comfortable environment for student veterans and servicemembers. The aforementioned study found that many veterans may not want to identify themselves as such for many reasons, such as the fear of social stigma or wanting to put their “service behind them.” However, many of the study’s respondents also stated that student veterans’ programs “should be highly visible and promoted to encourage participation.”

“It is what they make of it,” said Veterans Services Coordinator and VSO advisor Jeff Williams, who has served for 29 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, including a combat tour to Iraq. “The administration is always so supportive. Student veterans just have to tell me what they need.”

Williams is a strong proponent of positive change for student veterans and servicemembers at NECC. His most recent accomplishment is his addition of two work study students, which will allow him to help more student veterans in a more effective manner by allowing him more time attend to more pressing issues.

Williams has also been trying to make NECC feel more welcoming for current and future student veterans by his active support in trying to appoint a private study space for veterans and servicemembers and also trying to create a specialized orientation program solely geared toward incoming students with military experience.

One of Williams’ current main goals is to make the Veterans Center more “attractive” to student veterans, meaning he’d like more people to go in to study or talk, or just to communicate their concerns.

Veterans Service is located in the Student Center on NECC’s Haverhill campus in room SC-216, and it is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays, and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursdays.

Coordinator Williams also provides support for students in Lawrence at the El Hefni building’s advising center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Work study hours may vary.

For more information, please email Veterans Services at veteransservices@necc.mass.edu or call (978) 556-3631.

Olsen, Timothy, Karen Badger, and Michael D. McCuddy. “Understanding The Student Veterans’ College Experience: An Exploratory Study.” U.S. Army Medical Department Journal (2014): 101-108. Academic Search Premier. Web. 7 Apr. 2015.​

Modern Middle East History Class at NECC

The Middle East is everywhere in today’s news media. Stories about attacks and bombings in those Middle Eastern countries, stories about the new Iranian Bill, and of course the stories involving ISIS. But do Americans fully understand what’s going on in the Middle East? Have we educated America’s youth enough to form an opinion on all these debates, and the choices our government is making as a result?

NECC offers a Modern Middle East history class which is taught by Professor Stephen Russell. It covers the history of the region, and the impact the United States and other nations have on it. It helps students understand that the problems in the Middle East started before America got involved, and allows students to see the people of the Middle East not just as Muslims or terrorists, but as everyday people, who have survived oppressive regimes, wars, and revolutions within their own country.

“I wish I knew about the middle east history class,” said NECC student Traeger Domoretsky, broadcast journalism major. Domoretsky, who is graduating NECC this spring, said “I wish someone had told me when I was a freshman coming into NECC the importance of knowing what’s going on in the Middle East. Now, being older, I listen to the news more and I hear stories about Iran and Afghanistan. I sort of understand what the newscasters are saying, but if I understood how it all began I’d feel more comfortable talking about these topics with people.”

David Peńa, a history major who is taking the Modern Middle East History class said “It’s amazing how much more to the Middle East there is besides what the media tells us.”
The media in America mainly focuses on the negative aspects of Middle Eastern politics and culture, which creates and reinforces strong prejudices in their viewers.

“The Middle East is still in the midst of their revolution,” said Peńa. “I think it’s important for students to take this class and grasp an understand of why this is all happening in the Middle East, because then maybe people wouldn’t hate on people just because they’re Muslim.”

Patrick Murphy, a Liberal Arts major, said, “I’m taking the Modern Middle East History course this semester, it has deepened my understand of what’s going on in those regions today.

He said, “People, especially the youth, need to be educated in what has happened in [the Middle East], and hopefully with that added knowledge and insight, we can begin to make the changes to help better our society for the people of all religions and races in the Arab world.”

NECC’s Premier Unofficial Club

Imagine walking up the stairs to the second floor of the Student Center to go to the bookstore, wondering just how much your educational success is going to cost you today. Your line of sight hasn’t even come in line with the top of the stairs yet when, suddenly, a wave of focus-penetrating howling and laughter shatters your train of thought, which is effectively replaced by other-worldly jargon: “I’m telling you, Duck Hunt Dog is top tier!” “Naruto should’ve ended up with Sakura instead of Hinata.” “I special summon my Cyber Soldier from the graveyard in face-down defense mode!”

You look to the area across from the bookstore and see a gaggle of often peculiarly dressed young women and men chatting away merrily, and possibly eating pizza or ramen, playing card games or reading comics or Japanese manga on the school computers.

No, you have not stumbled into enemy territory, although many may try to avoid wandering into their space as if it was. You have merely come into contact with one of NECC’s most diverse groups—one that means nobody any harm, but instead is very prone to welcoming others without question.

“I guess you can call us Team Meme Supreme,” laughed Liam Lavoie, who is a psychology major at NECC and a member of the close-knit group of friends that frequent the area across from the bookstore. A young man seated nearby playfully shouted, “Let’s make a banner!”

Lavoie continued. “Sometimes we play Super Smash Bros. (for 3DS), cards, Pokémon,” he said, pausing; and then, with an accusatory head nod and glare toward the young man seated beside him, he playfully said, “or making (Dungeons and Dragons) characters.” They laughed.

Each individual that frequently hangs out in the area had different motives and stories concerning how they ended up there, but they all continued going for one reason: friendship.

“My friends were hanging out here, so I came,” said Lavoie, who then stated that he first began hanging out there because it was once a hotspot for casual lunch conversations, and thus bonding with like-minded individuals.

Many students may not know—especially newer students—that the NECC bookstore space was once a cafeteria, and all of the current seating outside of the bookstore was once just a simple eating area for students. Many lasting ties were forged during typical lunch periods between students with similar interests, to include things like the anime and gaming cultures. Those earlier times have essentially allowed for Team Meme Supreme to thrive as well as it has.

“The thing I like about this group is that it’s so big,” said Conor Miller, who is a theater major at NECC and the hand and voice behind the blue Bad Idea Bear (which he affectionately named BB King) from the Top Notch Players’ production, Avenue Q. “We never turn anyone away,” he followed.

The size of the groups that stay in the area across from the bookstore varies greatly, and typically depends on the time and the day of the week one happens to pass by; however, regardless of their size, their presence seldom goes unnoticed.

“We’re the most diverse group on campus,” he said, and then went on to joke about how their numbers would easily trump that of any actual club or organization at NECC. Miller then went on to ponder on how he became a member of Team Meme Supreme.

“I was playing Pokémon Crystal, sitting all by myself next to a large group of people playing video games, when a guy named Mike came up and said, ‘Is that Pokémon Crystal? You should come show us!’” said Miller reminiscently. Miller has since maintained and created bonds with others with interests similar to his.

A major point of speculation from passersby is the amount of time members of Team Meme Supreme spend in their hangout spot. Some individuals have gone as far as to joke that many of those who frequent their spot aren’t even students at NECC because of the lengths of time some of them remain there.

Lavoie stated that he spends around two to two-and-a half hours per day, or about eleven hours per week just hanging out with friends in their hangout spot. Benigno “Benny” Agosto, a psychology major at NECC, who was wearing a black fedora, quickly chimed in by excitedly stating, “I think I spend double that!”

Agosto remarked on how someone had introduced him to the group on his first day at NECC.
“I kind of just wandered in and stayed,” he quipped. “The vibe was awesome, so I kept coming!”

None of the members of Team Meme Supreme seemed very concerned with what others may think of them, to include NECC’s public safety officers, who playfully refer to them as “the loud group.” More than anything, each individual from their informal organization would like their fellow students, faculty and staff, and even the security guards to know that they mean nobody any harm. Instead, they encourage others to join them or engage them in conversation whenever they’d like.

“We’re not as scary as you think,” said Agosto. “We may be loud and we may seem crazy, but we’re really cool. Walk in and we love you!” he said lastly.

As Agosto finished speaking, another affiliate of Team Meme Supreme sat down beside Agosto with a My Little Pony plush doll stuffed in through the neck of his shirt with only its head sticking out.

“It’s for intimidation purposes,” he said with a wry smile, perfectly embracing the joyfully benign spirit of Team Meme Supreme.

Regardless of one’s personal feelings toward Team Meme Supreme, the fact of the matter is that they fully intend to continue hanging out and enjoying one another’s company.
However, if one ever feels like having a joyful conversation about anything, they’d like others to know one thing: “The more the merrier!”

NECC’s Music Club is Ready to Expand

The Music Club at NECC performs music at the college for the community. According to the college website, the club creates informational music activities such as jam sessions, caroling and viewing educational music videos. Exploring the current music technology, budget and hanging around talking about music makes this club a fun place to be.

Dr. Ken Langer, Music Department Director, says, “The Music Club is beneficial to anyone who has an interest in playing or listening to music.”

Jennifer Weiss, General Studies, Music Option, 20, is President of the club and serves for the full school year. Other positions in the club include Vice President, Secretary, and Treasurer.

Weiss said, “Our main goal is to improve the music department and grow as a whole. We want to inspire people to play and enjoy all the different aspects of music!”

Lindsey Michaud, 20, General Studies, Music Option, is Vice President of the club. This year, they have talked more about how to raise money for the music department. “We talk about how we can use that money to make improvements and how we can inform incoming students of the unique program we have at NECC.” said Michaud.

The way the club operates is completely up to the participants. “They drive the agenda and the activities,” said Langer.

Amanda Clooney, a Music and Business Major, 20, said, “The Music Club is to get people that are and are not music students to talk about what they like about music, what they want to happen in the future for the department and where they want to go with music.”

Weiss, as president, has learned how much responsibility it takes to be a leader.
“I also learned that everyone depends on you to take care of business and problems. I learned to step up and be responsible,” said Weiss.

Michaud said, “The club started in the spring, 2014. Dr. Langer told us about it during class so I decided to stay and see what it was about. Other music majors and non music majors are in the club and anyone can join no matter what their major, as long as they are an NECC student or employee.”

Clooney says her trip into the music club wasn’t exactly planned. “I knew about the club when the advisor, Professor Langer, mentioned the idea of starting one at the beginning of the spring 2013 semester, but I didn’t join until the third meeting by accident when I showed up to my following class early.”

“I love being able to meet with other people who share similar interests and goals. I enjoy the opportunity to leave an impression with this school even after I’ve graduated. It’s just another activity to do with my friends at school and we have a lot of fun with it,” Michaud said.

The music club meets at 1 p.m. every other Thursday, and all students from any major can attend.

Commemorating Abraham Lincoln

A commemoration lecture in honor of Abraham Lincoln’s death was held on April 14 in the Hartleb Technology Center. The lecture was organized by Richard Padova as a part of the third installment of the 2014-2015 Speaker’s Series “Movers, Shakes and Opinion makers,” funded by NECC and the generous contributions of Bill Heineman.

Padova was the first to speak, talking about the presidential campaign of Abraham Lincoln and how voting was done during his 1864 election.

“Voting was a little different than you’re accustomed to today. Back in the 1800’s, often times the way voting was done was the political parties would print the ballots with the names of their candidates on it so the Democratic party would print a ballot with all the Democrats on it and the Republican party would print a ballot with all the Republican candidates on it that were running, and then they would distribute these to their supporters straight to the polls on election day.”

Also Partisan papers back in the 1800’s printed pages full of ballots as well, and then voters that planned on voting would cut out a ballot and bring them to their voting place on election day,” said Padova.

Padova, an avid collector of artifacts of American history, brought on display some items from Lincoln’s presidency including a ballot, a playbill from “My American Cousin”, which is the performance Lincoln was attending when he was shot by John Wilkes Booth. There was a hand bill which alerted the public in a sort of original paper tweet about the outcome of the election.

“A lot of times when people were waiting for a paper to arrive especially in rural parts of the country, handbills were printed, sort of like the equivalent to a text alert today,” said Padova. A handbill was distributed to announce the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, which had a poem written on it, and was on display along with the other artifacts for the lecture.

“On the morning of Friday April 14, 1865, the Lincolns decided they would be attending ‘Our American Cousin’ that evening, so Mary Lincoln notified John Ford, the owner of Ford’s Theatre that the first couple would be attending the performance that evening. Ford went to a local printer and had a playbill printed with the basic information about the performance, and the playbills were circulated on the streets of D.C. as a way to gather support for the performance, and it worked and there was a full house that night,” said Padova.

The assassination of Lincoln took place at 10:15 p.m. on Friday, April 14, 1865.

Next to speak was Professor Jim Murphy from the theater department, who recited a magnificent rendition of the Gettysburg Address, with the Civil War Memorial Guard standing beside him in full uniform.

The guest speaker, Dr. Heather Cox Richardson of Boston University, MIT Suffolk, UMass Amherst, Fitchburg State University and Boston College offered her time to speak about Abraham Lincoln after the recitation of the Gettysburg Address.

She defends Mary Todd from the ridicule often associated with her spending habits and public opinion during Lincoln’s presidency.

Richardson gave very interesting insights in how Lincoln operated in the White House by bringing his poor upbringing into to discussion. She emphasized how Lincoln was a true American, in that he pulled himself up ‘by the bootstraps’ and created his own successes despite many early challenged growing up in less than ideal circumstances.

“The one thing that is interesting, and I speak about this stuff a lot, is that there is this sense — and I’m not necessarily speaking about people today, but there is this sense that they’re (slave owners) deliberately advancing the field that makes them masters of the universe,” said Richardson.

She related how although the United States no longer has slavery, the less wealthy and lower middle people on the line of poverty are in a sense shackled to corporations holding a lot of money and power in the country.

After a brief discussion with the students attending the lecture, there was an open panel discussion followed by a reenactment of Act III Scene 2 of Our American Cousin, the scene playing when Lincoln was assassinated.